(by Don Meador)
Allen County-Scottsville Lady Patriot junior Avery Morris drained a 3-pointer near the 2:33 mark of the second quarter on Tuesday, February 17---three points that carried the 2027 Miss Basketball candidate to the top of the all-time scoring list for Lady Patriot basketball. Morris capped the milestone night with 33 points to help carry AC-S to a 64-35 win at South Warren.
Morris’ history-meeting night came in her 132nd game in a Lady Patriot uniform. Her varsity career started on December 4, 2021 when she scored three points against Franklin-Simpson. Morris finished her seventh-grade season with 165 points, an average of 6.3 points per game. Already in the starting line-up, Morris’ scoring numbers increased as an eighth-grader. The guard would average 14.6 points, scoring 365 points. As a freshman in the 2023-24 season, Morris tallied 615 points---passing the 1,000-point mark in the process while scoring an average of 20.5 points. She followed with 614 points as a sophomore last year, lifting her to 1,759 points at the start of this season. At the time, Morris was fourth on the all-time scoring list behind Rich (2,433), Sarah Sutton (2,232) and Savannah Gregory (1,836).
Morris has stepped up her game this season---both on the offensive and defensive ends of the court. She has led AC-S in scoring in 22 of the 25 games she has played. In 10 games, Morris has surpassed 30 points with the high mark coming on January 16. In the 2A state tournament’s quarterfinals, Morris scored a school-record 54 points---shattering Rich’s previous 45-point mark. The junior has also recorded five or more steals 11 times including a career-high 11 swipes against Todd Central.
Tuesday’s numbers---33 points, eight steals, four assists, and a rebound---continues to lift her career totals. Morris has now scored 2,450 points, grabbed 394 rebounds, handed out 323 assists, and recorded 346 steals. Her career scoring average stands at 18.6 points per game. This season, she has scored 691 points (27.6 ppg) which is the AC-S single-season record for points. Morris averages five steals, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.2 assists.
The AC-S win over South Warren was never in doubt. The Lady Patriots built a 19-8 lead after the first quarter and followed with a 16-3 second period. An 18-11 third frame gave AC-S a 53-22 lead. The Lady Spartans outscored the Lady Patriots 13-11 in the final eight minutes.
Lady Patriots’ Debora Patrick and Allison Ford also had strong nights. Patrick just missed a double-double, finishing with 11 points and nine rebounds. Ford notched her second consecutive double-digit scoring game after putting 11 points in the books. Payton Marr grabbed seven rebounds.
AC-S sank 25 of 51 shots from the floor (49%) and included 3-point baskets from Morris and Marr. At the line, the Lady Patriots were 12 of 17 for 70.6%. South Warren (8-16) was 13 of 43 (30.2%) from the floor and six of 15 (40%) at the line. The Lady Spartans edged the Lady Patriots 31-30 on the glass. South turned the ball over 19 times which led to 18 AC-S points.
The Lady Patriots (19-7) close the regular season on Thursday, February 19 against Clinton County (7-18) in a 6 p.m. contest at Patriot Gym.